Monthly Archives: June 2014

Today while gazing at a colleague screen i’ve seen him using a weird program in yellow I haven’t seen before. I asked him about the program and he told me this is WinMerge.

I’m using Windows actively as a Desktop since less than a year so it is quite interesting to learn about Winmerge – a tool to make file compare and merge files in .

What is WinMerge?

WinMerge is an Open Source differencing and merging tool for Windows. WinMerge can compare both folders and files, presenting differences in a visual text format that is easy to understand and handle. It is highly useful for determining what has changed between project versions, and then merging changes between versions. WinMerge can be used as an external differencing/merging tool or as a standalone application.

WinMerge is precious tool for Window sysadmins and anyone who needs to do file compare or merge in non UNIX environment (configs). WinMerge has also plenty of useful configs to add various non-standard functionality to the program. The authors of

Last Saturday I my wife Svetlana andCvetomir and Dimitrina and their 3 year old boy Boris we went for a small trip to Divotino Monastery – Holy Trinity. This monastery is well know near Sofia by christians because it is one of the monasteries where still one can meet monks with a zeal for spiritual life and a tight monk brotherhood ..

On our way to the monastery the usual way leading to town of Bankya which is going through a small village was closed so we had to drive to a nearest village. Bankya is famous with its Mineral water – the region is very rich in mineral waters natural springs.

Reaching the monastery, we saw two of the monks to hold a bee hive. The monks greeted us but has to continue doing their planned
work with bees. One of the monks even recognized the kid with us Boris (because 1 year ago – Boris received baptism in this monastery). Later I got a bee bite and now

Entering the monastery walls one feels like entering heaven for one can feel the abundant grace of God which is dwelling there.
The small garden nearby the Church looks like a heavenly garden.
We had the chance to have a small talk with one of the monks which I later realized is the “right hand of the Abbot”.
Divotino monastery is one of the few ones in Bulgaria that offers isolation from the world as it is situated in a place away from civilization and thus seems to be great place for people who would like to evaluate their life and their life goals or simply find retreat from modern stressful life.

The Divotino monastery “Holy Trinity” is one of the oldest and best-preserved cloisters in the Sofia region. Originally there was a monastery around ъ. 1046 and then monastery was destroyed in 1386 by Turkish just to be rebuilt in y. 1875, among local people it is famous unde name “The King Monastery”, because of the frequent visits of Bulgarian King Ferdinand in time of his rulership. in 20th century it was a non monastery. As much of the monasteries in Bulgaria, the monastery had a “cell school”, which at times has accomodated the Grestest Bulgarian revolutionary (liberation) fighter against turkish slavery Vasil Levsky.

At present, it functions as a monk brotherhood. The monastery lies in the northern slopes of the Lyulin Mountain, about 10km away from the village of Divotino and 4km to the southwest of the Michailovo quarter of the town of Bankya. Divotino Monastery is only 24 km by car from Sofia.
The place is exceptionally picturesque and wild, while the monastery is surrounded by wooded hills and two brooks that cross by its walls.

The area where the pot was found is still known as “The Fortune”. Not much has remained of the old monastery, however, save for small wooden part of the iconostasis and three wall-painted icons. During the plunders of the so-called bands of Kurdzhalii towards the end of 1806, the monastery was not saved and its herds of sheep, cows, horses and buffaloes were stolen. According to a legend, however, the chief of the Kurzhalii, Hassan Hodzha, who led the stolen cattle, was killed by a thunder. His scared men buried him and ran away, leaving behind the plundered animals. The place, where Hassan Hodzha was buried according to the legend is still known as “Hodzha’s Grave”.

The monastery is popularly known among local people as the Tsar’s Monastery, because of the frequent visits of Tsar Ferdinand there during his rule. It is also told that Tsar Ferdinand donated two carriages to the then-Mother Superior of the Divotino monastery, Claudia. One of the carriages was used for representative purposes, while the other one served for overseeing the vast real estate properties of the monastery. Similarly to many other monasteries, the Divotino cloister also maintained a small monastery school and supported the national struggle for liberation, including by sheltering the famous revolutionary Vasil Levski.

The Monastery icon has saved Vasil Levski from a bullet.
In Monastery there are two miracle making icons. One is with a hole of a Turkish bullet. The bullet was shot against Levski, when he was hiding from Turkish authorities. The bullet ricocheted and killed the Turkish. The other miraculous icon is of the Most Holy Trinity.

The present-day church and monastery buildings were built in 1902, after the complex had been set on fire for three times in a row during the Ottoman rule of Bulgaria. The church was constructed after the Athos architectural style, and represents a small, one-nave, cross-shaped building. The yard of the monastery is not large, but is rather hospitable with its beautiful fountain, several fruit trees, a wooden table with benches ands a shadowed shelter just in front of the church.

The church’s feast is marked every year on the 50th day after Easter. On that day, the monks throw walnut leaves out of the altar’s gates towards the worshipers, as the leaves remind of the tongues of flame, which embodied the Holy Spirit during his appearance before Christ’s apostles 50 days after Resurrection.

Here is a video to a small documentary about the monastery – http://vbox7.com/play:3cea590f

This is not the first time my wp-admin wordpress menu becomess smaller and I spend a lot of time in google to figure out what is happening and why admin menu becomes smaller? This is quite an unusual problem because, I do stuff from left sidebar menus and out of a sudden the menu becomes minimized!!!

To make the wordpress administrator menu revert back to normal size, just click the small button on down left triangle button.

After a short but severe sickness this night 27 June 2014 in Sofia – Capital hospital “Saint Anna” passed away to Christ Stoyan Ivanov (information from Holy Trinity Church “Dobrich”).

Church manciple and priest, Father Stoyan and chairman of Church board of Holy Trinity Church, diocese advisor an ex vicar general and a creator of homeless people shelter and social dining place nearby “Holy Trinity” Church building.

“We pray that the Lord have mercy on fr. Stoyan’s soul and grant him paradise entrace with the souls of righteous. We evince our deep condolence to his relatives and let his remembrance last forever.” – says the sable notice from Varna and VelikoPresval’s metropoly.

Burial service for his soul will be held in “Holy Trinity” Church where fr. Stoyan served with dedication to Dobrich Orthodox Christians.

Holy Trinity Church is the biggest Church temple in Dobrich with richest spiritual life and healthiest brotherhood.
As recognition to father Stoyan’s high contribution to Christians in Dobrich city, he will be buried small yard in front of Church.

Here is short biography of father Stoyan (from Jeglarci).
Fr. Styoan died 56 years old. He graduated Spiritual School (Seminary) in distant 1980 in times when Christian faith was persecuted by the Communist government in Bulgaria, and being part of Church community or studying in seminary was considered scandal and almost criminal activity. When 22 years old fr. Styoan was ordained deacon. In 1 January 1981 he was ordained in priest dignity. In beginning of his priesthood he served as priest to 9 villages in Dobrich region and as a regular service priest in villages Paskalevo and Kamen.

In year 1993 he was appointed for second priest in Church “Holy Trinity” Dobrich and from 1997 he become head Church priest. In sequence of 8 years he was “vicar general (arhiereiski namesnik)” of Dobrich spiritual region. Father Stoyan has 5 brothers and 2 sisters.

The father marked as personal success the restoration of old abandoned village Churches near Dobrich and the building of new Churches in Dobrich region and most importantly by his initiative the Spiritual Center with social dining room unto “Holy Trinity” Church.

Father Styoan’s wife is worthy for veneration for the fact he was priest of Bulgarian Orthodox Church in two hard periods (from 1981 in severe communism times – when he was often threatened by communist authorities and in time of beginning (anarchic) democracy from 1991 to 1996.

The father helped to many poor people by giving him shelter and food in the homeless people center he established. The homeless and poor in Dobrich will surely miss the merciful priest and remember him for long time for his good deeds. To establish the Homeless Orphanage home father Stoyan (Ivanov), fought hard battles to collect money and build the homeless people center which is also with a spiritual library (which contains 2800 books and is the most rich Spiritual Library in Dobrich), Spiritual Center (where almost each Sunday there are small orthodox lectures), and a wing for homeless people.

After 500 hundred years being under the yoke of the Turkish Empire (crescent) and 133 Years from the Liberation from Turkish Slavery.

We Bulgarians have the misfortune to be under an econimic slavery. Yesterday I travelled with Night train in Sleeping Car wagon from Dobrich to Sofia. It is not the first time I travel with sleeping car and I must say this new wagons bought last year are super confortable!

Guess my amazement, when I saw on my entrance in wagon down on the entry sidewalk written “MADE IN TURKEY“.

The wagons look very modern like produced in a normal European country so I always thought this new wagons are bought from Italy or Germany … Why and who took the decision that a state company as the Bulgarian National Trains buy from Turkish country is a big question and why we’re financing the economy and well being of a nation that killed many of our fore-fathers. And I don’t think this wagons were bought from Turkey just because economic reasons, as we can always buy from Russia. It is a tragedy for Bulgarian nation that ruling parties and businesses in Bulgaria forget the blood of the fighters for freedom and do a national betrayer by giving Bulgarian money in hands of our ex-tormentors …

We had some doubts to travel or not as there were plenty of news online saying about a turmil situation Flood – 3 death tolls and many ateruined houses and streaming water.

Yesterday we travelled with Svetlana to Dobrich with Night train sleeping car.
The new sleeping cars (are from 2004) and was launched into Train composition from last year in BDZ (Bulgarian State Trains) are awesome. Being in those new sleeping carsyou feel like you’re in Germany or some other western country.

We arrived early in mormning in 07:32 and all is clear no flowing water on the streets no signs of mass destruction …

On my way home, we went flor the morning Church service and the Holy Liturgy in Holy Trintiy Church. Serving priest was fr. Emanuel who used to be a deacon in Holy Trinity Church for 3 years. Fr. Emanuel case is very interesting as he converted to Christianity, few years ago and decided to even take the path of priestship.

In the end of Church service Fr. Peter served a service for memoriam of the Victims of the recent floods in Varna and Dobrich and a prayer in which we asked God to help and strengthen families of victims. Cccording to latest reports at least more than 13 people passed away, being drowned in the floods in Varna’s suburb Asparuhovo and some of Dobrich. In Dobrich in floods 150 people loose their homes.

Last Sunday we went together with my wife Svetlana and brothers and sisters in Christ from the Sofia’s Orthodox Youth Movement in Bulgaria’s National Park situated near Zheleznica (Jeleznica) village.
Jeleznica is very near Sofia – if you drive by car in less than half an hour to reach there. Jeleznica. Nearby the village is Jeleznica river.

Jeleznica in Bulgarian means something like “Iron” and the name of village is derived because in earlier times near the village was an Iron mine.

Also for tourists interested in Christianity you can find nearby an functional Orthodox Monastery of Kolalyane (Kolayane Monastery).
Kokalyane monastery is situated on a very ascetic place only reachable by 30 minutes walk up the mountain.

10 Kilometers from the village are located the Ruins of another famous monastery, The “Holy Spirit” monastery which existed from the 15th century and was destroyed by muslims during Bulgarian turkish slavery.
The Holy Spirit monastery is situated on the mountain Plana’s peak called “Monastirishte” – 1338 meters high. Under the monastery ruins is a remarkable three which is 500 years old!

Nearby the monastery is a natural spring with a RED COLORED WATER! which is considered to be healing. Nowadays on same place where monastery was is a Small Chapel.

In ancient times Jeleznica region was important Spiritual enlightenment region for Bulgaria. It was called the “Small Holy Athos” which was part of the monastery framework called Sofia Holy Athos .

We had a great time we walked from the path leading the mountain. It is usual for this parts of Bulgaria that people go for a mountain tourist – people who live in Sofia are very blessed for that. In hour mountain hike we saw plenty of people around for a barbecue and many who try to escape from the stressful daily life and job. Nearby Jeleznica are two mountains.

Great news for the old-school gamers!
The Most awesome futuristic strategy game and probably the best real-time strategy gameDUNE2 – The Building of Dynasty is now available for your Android powered Tablet / SmartPhone!

In 1996 when AbsoluteFTP was first released, FTP was the best choice for transferring files on the emerging public network called the internet. As the popularity of FTP grew, AbsoluteFTP’s features and capabilities were extended to keep up with ever more sophisticated requirements (included support for Secure Copy Transfers via SSH protocol).

In 1998, VanDyke Software introduced SecureFX® to address increasing concern over FTP’s inherent lack of security. Supporting the Secure Shell File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) as well as conventional FTP, SecureFX is a multi-protocol application for all of your file transfer needs.
This program includes a Windows Explorer style interface, drag-and-drop file transfers, customizable file types, and multiple simultaneous connections and transfers.

This tool allows you to test your web applications to test availability concerns from Layer7 DoS HTTP GET and HTTP POST denial of service attacks.

Slow HTTP attack was covered in the OWASP AppSec DC presentation by Wong Onn Chee and Tom Brennan. In this attack type a client completes the request headers phase however it sends the request body (post payload) very slowly (e.g. – 1 byte/110sec). When you consider that, by default, Apache will accept a request body of up to 2GB in size, you can can see how effective this attack can be.